As seen in the comments below, there’s a pretty good article about the Reds up and coming pitching staff over at SI. Lots of great stuff in there, but I especially liked this part about our fifth starter candidates:
Still, his brief time with Cincinnati has already been beneficial. A minor arm injury was causing his arm to sag during his windup, and he wound up leaving too many balls in the middle of the strike zone as a result. Almost as soon as Pole saw him, he noticed the problem and began stressing to Owings that he slow down his motion to ensure that he stays on top of the ball through his delivery. According to Owings, the positive effects of the change were nearly instantaneous, though it remains to be seen if that will carry over to a live game situation.
Bailey, meanwhile, spent most of the winter working out in Austin, Texas, with, among others, tennis star Andy Roddick. The Lone Star State native began working with University of Texas pitching coach Skip Johnson at the recommendation of his agent, and the two worked on developing a more consistent approach to hitters. Bailey is already one of the more thoughtful players on the team — he’s one of the few big leaguers who prefers reading actual books in the clubhouse, his current selection being Undaunted Courage, a Stephen Ambrose book about the Lewis and Clark expedition. “I don’t get to read it as often as I’d like,” he says with a shrug.
You never know what you are going to get with pitchers…but the potential of this pitching staff makes me smile.